Category: Middle East

By Aliyah Saleem Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun showed tremendous courage as she barricaded herself into a hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand, to prevent being sent back to Saudi Arabia, where she could have faced prison and death for renouncing Islam. Her case demonstrated the power of social media as people such as the journalist Mona Eltahawy joined in to gather as much attention as possible for her. Rahaf has now been provided asylum by Canada where can she build a life for herself on her own terms. We…

By Saima Baig Saudi Arabia has been a repressive country with a regime that has oppressed almost everyone living there — other than rich men. The ruling monarchy has had to do this to ensure its survival. The country has been responsible for spreading its own brand of militant Islam all over the world. It has been able to do so because of the petrodollars it has distributed in the countries where it sends its religion and funds terrorists. It also buys weapons from the west and is an…

By Atoosa This year, March 20th marked the first day of the solar calendar, the first day of spring. In Iran and across communities in Central Asia and the Middle East, as has been done for over 3,000 years, people of all races and religions celebrated the New Year with rituals and symbols of spring, family and food. Reflecting on the past year, there has been a mass confrontation between the citizens and government, from across Iranian society and particularly from women, who have demonstrated a re-invigoration in the…

By Jimmy Bangash As I sit here in London On the cusp of the New Year; My heart walks the streets of Iran. For women have woken As a girl waves her hijab; Casting out the sound of Adhan. You cannot control them, No clergy can own them; This marks the death of Imams. Their bodies were plundered Wrapped up and covered; All in the name of Quran. Replace chador and virginity, With lipstick and liberty; Even though you think it’s Haram. Their voice is your death knell…

By Sofia Demirturk Living in the age of political correctness, we place more emphasis on not hurting anyone’s sentiments, rather than analysing the world revolving around us. We try our best to not to be named as an Islamophobe, anti-Semite, homophobe etc — thus, stating our minds has become a bigger challenge than it was historically. Whenever a question is raised that touches on race or religion, we get lost in discussing what are the right terms to use, rather than the actual problems, and every argument seems to get…

By Hassan Radwan Islam – my religion – is facing the most serious crisis of its 1400 year history. Extremists like ISIS only serve to bring this crisis to a head, but it has been growing over the last 200 years. Yet despite this, we refuse to accept there is need for reform or even to engage in a conversation about it. The past 200 years have seen some of the greatest changes in human history. Changes in relationships, gender roles, law and order, morality and ethics. Changes in the…

By Haydar Zaki Anti-corruption protests sweeping through a Middle Eastern country, spearheaded by an ultra-religious figure under the language of rights and equality – where have we heard this before? All one needs to do is look at the history of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq’s neighbour Iran to understand why I am deeply sceptical about current events. In Iran, ultra-religious figures were able to capitalise on the unrest and disenfranchisement of the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to implement one of the most brutal theocracies in the region. It is…

By Sofia Demirturk Being born in an ultra nationalist Turkish family, the Armenian genocide was once a story about an imperialist conspiracy against our sovereignty, how Armenia had their eyes on our country, and how ungrateful they were for all the years we spent together in the lands of Anatolia. My father used to tell me about the lies that Armenians told to the world, and how we Turks should never trust anyone, as every other nation is busy conspiring against us. The history classes we had back in…

By Iram Ramzan “Someone’s always watching. Trust me.” These are the words uttered by college student Salma in the BBC 3 drama Murdered By My Father, as she warns her boyfriend to stay away before someone finds out that they are dating. We have all been there, have we not ladies? Most of us, from South Asian or Middle Eastern backgrounds, where the notions of honour and shame are so important, have always been — and always will be — on our guards whenever we leave the house. Because no matter…